Device for flushing drains



Juiy 3%) E35. J. c. GREEN DEVICE FOR FLUSHING DRAINS Filed ApI'i1 10, 1955 INVENTOR. c/Zjzwk C 5/1 07 ATTORNEYS Patented July 30, 1935 name-m musin s-anew a inserting-i a es, nedo tfmch I 2 April;- 10;:1'955, Serialz 1x11415547 mventiom relates to-means for flushing theinventioni connecting:'a -faucet tm the drain I F drain pipes. of sinksg'washlbowls, laundry tubs and the like.

'I!he primaryc objectof the invention is tov pro- :vide. a. flexible conduit with means at one end fore. connecting it: 170 a -faucet and a resilientlycompressible; element at the otherend adapted tobe insertediintothe-end of admin-pipe to pro vide a water tight connection therewith] In order to hold= thecompressibleelement the pipe against-the back pressure of the-water tending; to force it out; of the pipe the' invention has as azfurther: objectto provide a novel arrange ment 'ofr' suction: cups which attach themselves to the surface of the sink, wash bowl or laundry tub as the case may be, to oppose the tendency of the compressible element to move out of the end of the drain pipe due to water pressure in the pipe. 7 Y

20 In connection with the means for holding the water seal in its proper position'with respect to the drain pipe it is another object of the invention to provide a support for the suction cups used for that purpose which adapts the invention for use in connection with-various shaped bowls or tubs. The support for the cups comprises resiliently flexible elements to which the cups are movably attached so that under ordinary circumstances the cups may be attached to the bot- 7 tom of the bowl or tub or they may be attached to the side walls of the tub in cases where the drain pipe is in close proximity to the side walls. The support for the suction cups is also movable with respect to the water seal so that in cases where close quarters prohibit the attachment of the suction cups to adjacent surfaces the holding elements and their support may be moved to an inoperative position and the sealing element may be held in place by manual pressure.

40 Wash bowls and laundry tubs are quite commonly provided with overflow drains which communicate with the main drain. In such cases it is necessary to seal the overflow drain in order to prevent the water from backing up through 45 the overflow drain instead of flushing the main drain pipe. In this connection the invention aims to provide an overflow drain sealing element with suction cups for the purpose of holding the sealing element in a position sealing the overflow drain during flushing operations with respect to the main drain.

With the above and other ends in view the invention is more fullydisclosed with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which-- Figure 1 is a cross section of a sink, illustrating with respect to the overflowdrain;

pipe thereof; v r i Flgafi: isafragmentary cross section of 'the present device; 1 5 U a v. "Fig. 3&is a planofltheholding-meansf I I Big. 4; is across section ofa: laundry tub with thepr&ent overflow seal in a: sealing position Fig. 5 is a plan of the overflow seal; -Flg; 6 is a vertical: cross section thore'ofi and 10,:

Fig. l is a sectionofanother form of the: invention. 4 .1

Like 7 characters:.of reference are employed throughout: to designate corresponding pl tfli In Figure l the numeral l designates a sink having the usual drain pipe 2. Above the sink is illustrated a faucet 3 which is adapted to be connected to a water main for'supplying water under pressure thereto. A flexible conduit 4 is provided with a fitting 5 for attaching the end. of the conduit 4 to the faucet 3. Inasmuch as fittings such as shown at 5 are well known in this art the same has not been illustrated in detail here.

On the other end of the conduit 4 is provided a resiliently compressible ball, preferably formed of soft rubber so that it may be inserted, by compressing the same, into the end of the drain pipe 2 as illustrated in Figure 1. In order to hold the ball. 6 in the pipe 2 against the pressure of water tending to displace it therefrom during flushing operation the invention provides a pair of radially extending arms I with suction cups 8. The arms I are formed of a single element, preferably heavy spring wire, looped around the con- 35 duit 4 as at ll so as to bear against the ball 6 when the suction cups are forced manually into engagement with the surface of the sink as shown in Figure 1. In order to secure the cups to the arms I the cups are provided with apertured lugs 9 through which the respective arms I extend and the latter are provided with heads ID to retain the cups on the arms.

Due to the looseness of the loop II with respect to the conduit 4 the arms I may be freely moved when the cups 8 are out of engagement with the sink surface and in the event that the side walls of the sink preclude the placing of the cups in contact with either the bottom or the side walls the arms may be slipped up the conduit 4 and the 'ball 6 held in place vby manual pressure.

In Fig. 4 there is illustrated a laundry tub I! with the ball 6 inserted in the drain pipe Hi thereof. In this particular case one of the suction ie lfl ric -e cups 8 is illustrated as being attached to the bottom of the sink while the other is shown as being attached to the end wall M. This figure further illustrates an overflow drain IS with a sealing element It in a position covering the same. Projecting radially from the sealing element I6 are arms I! and suction cups l8 are loosely mounted on the arms to engage the side wall of the tub to hold the sealing member in place.

In Fig. 7 there is illustrated a form. of the invention suitable for'flushing basement drains and the like. In this form a fitting 20 is imbedded in a soft rubber ball 2|, the fitting being internally threaded to receive the end of a garden hose.

porting suction cups 24. In use, the ball 2I' is in engagement with the pipe.-

Although specific embodiments of the-invention are shown and described it will be, under-;

stood that various changes maybe made within the scope of the appended claims'without departingfrom the spirit of the invention, and such,

changes are contemplated. 1

What I claimis: t

, 1. A device of the character described foruse in combination with a sink having a drain pipe and a faucet, said device comprising'a flexible,

conduit, means for connecting one end of said conduitto said faucet, means for, connecting the Retained on the ball by a flange 22 on the fitting 20 are radially extending arms-23 sup- H other end of said conduit to said drain pipe, arms radiating from said last named means, and suction cups mounted on said arms.

2. A device of the character described for use in combination with a sink having a drain pipe and a faucet, said device comprising a flexible conduit, means for connecting one end of said conduit to said faucet, means for connecting the other end of said conduit to said drain pipe, flexible arms loosely connected with said last named means, and suction cups on said arms. V

3. A device of the character described for use incombination with a sink having and drain pipe and a faucet, said device comprising a flexible conduit, means for connecting one end of said conduitto said faucet, means for connecting the other-end of said conduit to said drain pipe, flexible arms engagingsaid last named means, and suction cups loosely mounted on said arms.

4. In a device of the character described, a sealing element, arms extending radially with respect to said element,.and suction cups on said arms.

5. In-a device of the character described, a sealing element, flexible arms connected with said sealing element,,suction cups, and means for attaching saidcups to said'arms-to facilitate movement of the cups with respectthereto.

g 6. In a device ofnthe character described, a flexible conduit having a ball shaped enlargement circlingsaid conduit and engaging said enlargement, and suction cups mounted on said .arms.

- 1 JOSEPH C. GREEN.

Q onthe end thereof, arms having a part loosely en- 

